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E. TWEEDY & G. YULE. HAT ROUNDING MACHINE.

N0. 330,441. Patented Nov. 17, 1885.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. E. TWBEDY'& G. YULE.

HAT ROUNDING MACHINE.

I Patented Nov. 17, 1885.

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3 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

B. TWEEDY & G. YULE.

HAT ROUNDING MACHINE.

No. 330,441. Patented Nov. 17, 1885.

I l 1 l I NlTED STATES PATENT rrrcnt EDMUND TWEEDY, OF DANBURY, CONNECTICUT, AND GEORGE YULE, OF NEWARK, NET/V JERSEY.

'HAT-ROUNDING MACHINE,

$PECIE'ICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 330,441, dated November 17, 1885.

Application filed March 30, 1885. Serial No. 16 ,607.

.To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, EDMUND TWEEDY and GEORGE YULE, citizens of the United States, residing, respectively, in Danbury and Newark, in the counties of Fairfield and Essex and States of Connecticut and New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hat-Rounding Machines, fully de scribed and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings,forming a part of the same.

This invention consistsin the combination, with a pair of rotary cutters, of a yielding feeding-disk affixed directly to one of the cutters, and adapted to grasp the hat-brim by frictional contact therewith, and to draw the same continuously into contact with the cutting-edges.

It also consists in the combination, with the rotary cutters,of an adjustable gage applied to the band of the hat, and in various means for pressing the hat-crown against such gageand for varying the width of-the brim at different points.

It also consists in certain details of construction described and shown herein.

In the drawings annexed, Figure l is a side elevation of a machine embodying this invention. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same, taken in section on the line as x in Fig. 1, the pressingroller not being shown in section, and the upper cutter and its driving gear-wheel being omitted from the view, and the hat-brim being shown in dottedilines to avoid obscuring the the parts beneath. Fig. 3 is a front elevation,

, and Fig. 4 a plan, of the entire machine, with the latter shown in section, of the hat-crown similar to that in Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a plan of the hat brim and crown with the gage applied thereto at right angles to the position shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a front View of the out ters, enlarged, with the feeding-disk shown as (No model.)

shafts, A and C, which project from the front 5 of the frame and carry rotary cutters a c, operating together as shears to trim off the edge of the hat-brim when properly presented thereto. The bearings for the shaft C are connected by a tie-bar, C, the rear bearing to being pivoted in the frame at f, and the front bearing, 1", and upper cutter being vertically adjustable by means of screw f, applied over the same.

p is a driving-pulley on shaft A, and G are gear-wheels connecting the cutter-shafts.

b is a rubber collar sprung into a groove formed in the hub a of the lower cutter, and constructed of such diameter as to press elastically against the periphery of the cutter c. The latter therefore indents the same as it rotates, as shown in Fig. 10, and when the hat brim d is inserted between the cutters tends to press the brim into the rubber, which then grasps the felt and pulls it continuously between the cutters.

d is the brim of the hat, applied to the cut-- ting-edges; d, the hat-crown, and it are tables for supporting the brim of the hat at opposite sides.

e is a gage fitted to the hat-band, and pro vided with a foot, 9, extended over the upper cutter and fitted to a guide, g, in the top of the frame F, the foot being provided with a slot, Fi 4 embracin the screw and a 8 J, g g 5 washer and a clamp-nut, are applied to the same screw to bind the foot y and clamp the gage in the required position.

e is a screw fitted to an ear, 6 upon the foot y, and tapped in the front of the frame F 0 press the arm and the roller it toward the gage.

The bracket J is projected from the front of the frame F beneath the cutters, and is provided with posts I I, to sustain the tables t t,

I v as a concave plate or bar held adjacent to the hat-band,operating by contact with the crown d to guide the hatbrim in a given path between the rotary cutters. With this construction the operator withdraws the roller h from contact with the gage e to the position shown in Fig. 2 by means of the handle L, and then inserts the brim of the hat beneath the gage, as shown in Fig. 1, the tables it supporting the brim of the hat at opposite sides of the roller, and the latter pressing the band of the hat firmly against the gage. The brim of the hat when in this position passes between the shearing-edges of the cutters, so that (shown in Figs. 8 and 9 at O O,) the same bethe rotation of the latter trims off a strip, as at sin Figs. 1 and 2; the hat-brim being grasped and drawn continuously through the cutters by the feeding-disk until the entire edge of the brim has been reduced to the desired width. As the gage is held rigidly at a fixed distance from the plane of the cutters, it is obvious that if the gage touch as a tangent at all points of the hat-band, the brim would be trimmed off parallel with the band, or of even width all around, as shown in the trimmed section of the brim from Z to l in Fig. 2; but, as it is frequently necessary to trim the brim of varying width at different parts of the crown, we have invented the following devices to render the gage operative for such purpose. the gage is shown faced with a leaf-spring, m, which is attached to the gage at its middle, but sustained by set-screwsn, inserted through the ends of the gage, and may thus be bent to a variety of curves. lts effect when bent to fit the most convex part of the band is shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the gage being shown in con tact with the front of the crown in Fig. 4. and with the side crown in Fig. 5. The gage obviously pushes the hat away from the cutters when the side crown is presented to it by reason of the flatter curvature of the side crown, as shown in Fig. 5, and thus producing a wider brim at the sides than at the front and rear of the crown. Such increased Width is very desirable where a hat-curl is to be formed at the sides of the hat-brim, and the difference between the black line Z and the dotted line Z in Fig. 5 shows how such difference is produced by the operation of the gage when adjusted in the manner described.

To adapt the gage to trim the brim wider at the front and rear of the crown, we apply to the band of the bat an auxiliary band,

ing formed of india-rubber, leather, or other material, with a greater thickness at the front and rear of the crown than at the sides, so that when in contact with the gage e the hat-crown Thus in Figs. 3, 4, and 5 will be pushed away from the cutters at the desired points, and the brim be thereby trimmed with the required variation in width at such points.

To set the gage conveniently at the desired distance from the plane of the cutting-edges, we provide a scale, q, upon the foot y, and an index, q, upon the frame, the divisions of such scale being numbered or marked with- 'foot, so that the operator may be guided in turning the screw exactly one revolution.

As the brim measures are computed in eighths of an inch, it is obvious that the gage may be moved to correspond with the halfsizes by turning the screw just one revolution, and the divisions representing half-sizes may therefore be omitted from the scale q,to avoid obscuring the larger divisions.

To conveniently retract the roller h with the right hand of the operator whentheleft hand is engaged in removing or inserting a hat in the machine, the shifting-handle may be applied back of the cutters, as shown in an alternative construction at L in Figs. 1, 2, and 4. In this case the rod J is extended beneath and past the cutters,and provided with a stud, m, and the lever L is pivoted upon the frame at u, and provided with a slot, m, to fit over the stud, so that the operator may retract the roller by applying his right hand to the handle of the lever L. The lever is shown in the required position to retract the roller in' Fig. 2, while the roller is shown in an operative position with the lever pushed backward in Fig. 1.

It is obvious that a convex presser of any kind would operate substantially like the roller h, and that it is immaterial how the presser is mounted, provided it is pressed elastically toward the gage e, and may be moved from the same sufficiently to insert the hat.

In place of the rubber collar applied to the hub of one of the cutters, an eccentric sliding collar may be applied to the face of the cutter, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7, where D is ascrewbolt extended from the center of theshaft O. D is a thumb-nut applied to the end of the same. D is a star-shaped spring under the thumb-nut, and b a circular collar slipped over the bolt and held elastically against the face of the cutterc by the spring. The collaris formed with a hole larger than the diameter of the bolt, and is applied to the face of the cutter c, in a line with the cutter a, so as to rotate in contact with the rim of the latter. The collar is made of such diameter as, when placed concentrically upon the cutter c, to interfere with the rim of the cutter a, and the latter cutter therefore pushes it into an eccentric position relative to the cutter c, as shown in the drawings,

When the'hat-brim is applied to the cutters, the felt passes between the collar 1) and the rim of the cutter a, the friction of the spring D resisting the eccentric movement, which is constantly produced by the rotation of the collar in contact with the felt. Such frictional resistance produced by the sliding of the collar toward the spring and the cutter 0 therefore produces the needed pressure of the collar upon the felt to draw the same continuously into the cutters, as described above for the rubber collar.

The spring D is made star-shaped, so that its several arms may press elastically upon the sliding collar, and it is provided with a tongue, b, fitted into a groove in the bolt, so as to rotate with the latter.

The nut D furnishes the means of exerting more or less pressure upon the spring, and thus increasing the sliding friction of the collar against the cutter 0, such friction serving to produce a constant yielding pressure of the collar against the rim of the cutter a when the cutters are in operation.

Having thus described our improvements, it will be seen how we are able to trim or round a hat-brim of even width all around or with variations in width at the front or side of the crown, and that we secure by the combination of the yielding feeding-collar with the rotary cutter an application of the feeding motion at the exact point where the cut operates. Our construction therefore enables us to round hats more exactly and uniformly than has heretofore been done.

We are aware that certain constructive features of our machine have been used in other machines with somewhat different functions; and we therefore disclaim the separate elements of our construction,and restrict ourselves to the combinations which we have claimed, and operating in the manner described.

WVhat we claim herein is 1. In a hat-rounding machine, the combination, with a pair of rotary cutters, of a rubber collar affixed directly to one of the cutters and adapted to press the hat-brim adjacent to the cutter during the cutting operation.

2. In a hat-ronnding machine, the combination, with means for supporting the hat-brim, of the cutter a, the yielding collar, and the cutter 0, arranged to press the brim against the collar while cutting against the face of the cutter a.

3. In a hat-rounding machine, the combination, with the cutters a and c, operated as described, of the frame in the rear of the cutters, the hat-brim support at the front of the cutters, and the crown-gage attached adjustably to the frame, as and for the purpose set forth.

4. In a hat-rounding machine, the combination, with the cutters a and 0, arranged and operated as described, of the frame arranged in the rear of the cutters, the hat-brim support at the front of the cutters, a crown-gage, arranged and operated as described, and a presser applied within the crown of the hat to press it toward thegage, as and for the purpose set forth.

5. In a hatrounding machine, the combination, with rotary cutters and a crown-gage, operated as described, of a presser arranged inside the crown, as set forth, and means, substantially as described, for retracting the presser to insert the hat beneath the crowngage, substantially as herein set forth.

6. In a hat-rounding machine, the combination, with rotary cutters and a crown-gage, operated as described, of a presser mounted upon a sliding bar, as described, a spring to actuate the presser, as set forth, and a handlever to retract the bar and presser, as and for the purpose set forth.

7. The combination, with the rotary cutters and the frame arranged in the rear of the cutters, of the crown-gage provided with a foot extended over the upper cutter and fitted to a guide in the top of the frame, as described, and provided with an index corresponding with the width of the brim, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

8. The combination, with the rotary cutters and the frame arranged in the rear of the cutters, of the crown-gage constructed with a foot fitted to a guide in the frame, and provided with an adj ustin g-screw having a thread adapted in one rotation to move the gage the required amount for a variation of half a size in the hatcrown, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDMUND TWEEDY. GEORGE YULE. WVitnesses as to Tweedy:

GRACE L. HUBBELL, LUMAN L. HUBBELL. Witnesses as to Yule: Trros. S. CRANE, XV. H. LANING. 

